WASHINGTON - The Japanese H3 rocket has finally done what it was supposed to do: launch a satellite without any dramatic explosions or unexpected satellite-acrobatics. On Aug. 10, the H3-22S lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 3:23 p.m. Eastern after several days of typhoon-induced delays, and 29 minutes later, it politely deployed the Michibiki 7 navigation satellite into its planned transfer orbit. No fuss, no muss.

Michibiki 7 is the latest addition to Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), a regional navigation network that's basically GPS's overachieving Asian cousin. The 4.9-metric-ton satellite will settle into a slightly inclined geosynchronous orbit, helping to complete QZSS's expansion from four to seven satellites. The goal: ensure at least four QZSS satellites are always visible over Japan, so the country can ditch foreign GPS signals entirely. Because who needs global cooperation when you have your own satellites?

This launch was meant to finish the job, but the universe had other plans last December. That's when Michibiki 5, one of the new satellites, got a one-way ticket to the ocean floor after an H3 failure. The investigation revealed that shocks during payload fairing separation damaged both the satellite and payload adapter, causing a pressure loss in the upper stage's liquid hydrogen fuel system. The satellite apparently fell off the adapter when the upper stage separated - because why not? This launch marked the first flight of the H3-22S configuration (two engines, two boosters) since that debacle. The H3 had already returned to flight in June with a different configuration, the H3-30S, which carries three engines and no boosters.

Japanese officials, never ones to shy away from ambition, are pushing to ramp up launches. At the Spacetide conference in July, they declared a national goal of 30 launches a year from Japan by the early 2030s. That's a big leap from the current pace - Michibiki 7 was just the third launch from Japan this year. The other two: one H3 success and a March failure of the tiny Kairos rocket by Space One. So, 30 a year? Sure, why not? The H3 alone can't do it. Initial plans called for six launches a year, but Iwao Igarashi, vice president and general manager of the Space Systems Division at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the H3's prime contractor, said talks with JAXA are underway to boost that to eight. “With government officials, we are discussing if we want to increase that number even more,” he said. Because when you're aiming for 30, eight is just a warm-up.

Next up for the H3: a projected November launch for JAXA's Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission, which will boldly go to Mars's moons and snag samples from Phobos. There's also the second HTX-X cargo mission to the ISS tentatively scheduled for this year, though NASA conveniently omitted it from an Aug. 3 briefing about the Crew-13 mission. Maybe they just forgot. Or maybe they're keeping it a surprise.